Team USA's Most-Decorated Athlete Will Be Its Flag-Bearer

Star swimmer will be Team USA's flag-bearer at Friday's opening ceremony
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 3, 2016 7:34 AM CDT
Team USA's Most-Decorated Athlete Will Be Its Flag-Bearer
Michael Phelps spits water after swimming in the men's 200-meter individual medley preliminaries at the US Olympic swimming trials on June 30, 2016, in Omaha, Neb.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

"King of the Olympic Rings" Michael Phelps already has more medals than any other athlete in history, Fox Sports notes. Now he's going to add a flag to the mix as Team USA's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Rio on Friday, the Olympic National Committee announced Wednesday. The swimmer, headed to his fifth Olympics, has 22 medals to his name, including 18 golds. "I'm honored to be chosen, proud to represent the US, and humbled by the significance of carrying the flag and all it stands for," he says in a Team USA release. "For Sydney, I just wanted to make the team. For Athens, I wanted to win gold for my country. For Beijing, I wanted to do something nobody else had done. In London, I wanted to make history. And now, I want to walk in the Opening Ceremony, take it all in, represent America in the best possible way, and make my family proud. This time around, it's about so much more than medals."

In more fashionable opening ceremony news, per the Los Angeles Times: Polo Ralph Lauren and the US Olympic Committee revealed Team USA's parade attire Friday, with team members set to be adorned in white denim pants, navy blue blazers, and red-white-and-blue striped T-shirts. But it's Phelps' outfit that will stand out the most: His jacket will be fitted with a battery pack that powers light-up panels to make his Olympic patch on the front and "USA" letters on the back glow. (Phelps' most recent accomplishment: his first child.)

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